More Pawns for the Game
by Ciara Wynne
Summary: Because Sam and Dean's lives weren't more complicated than they could imagine already. Starts S1
1. Chapter 1

_Flickering._

_A hut- no, there are trees, a cave? Possibly. Three people, girls, why is he seeing this? One takes another step but the tallest shoves her aside, something hits her, blood, not too leans against the wall, third girl says something- posh voice, British?- it's out, not that dangerous, keep watch, okay? Shorter two go into cave, third looks around, cocks- gun, there's a gun, why does she have a gun? Other two girls walking in, split up, brown hair goes right, black hair goes left; follow black hair, looking around, bones, rot, flesh, talk to self, nothing here, all good- wait, sound, footsteps, too big for man, more beast, but only two, it's back, it's early, oh god oh god, stay calm, duck, roll, sword can't reach sword, coming, pinned down, wake up, wake up, wake up-_

"Wake up!"

Sam opened his eyes just in time to be shoved off the bed and hit the ground. Immediately he sat up and looked at his brother over the top of his rumpled, sweaty sheets. "Nightmare?"

"Yeah," Dean crossed his arms over his bare chest. "In pretty deep too. Think it's another of your premonitions?"

"Felt like it," Sam said miserably.

"What happened?"

"Three girls went to this cave, one of them was lookout and the other two went inside and split up. I only saw one, but this creature, it came back early, and-" Sam buried his face in his hands.

"Come on Sam, don't beat yourself up," Dean jumped over the bed and crouched in front of his younger brother. "Maybe we can stop it; do you know where it is?"

Sam shook his head. "It was in the middle of nowhere; no signs, no landmarks, nothing. That girl is going to die because of me, and the monster is going to go after the other one, and the girl standing guard, and she's injured." He made a distressed noise. "And the monster will have had to go through the entrance, it will have killed her first. She's going to die. God, she's probably already dead."

* * *

><p>Kyra let the file hit the table with a thud and hopped onto her stool, taking a swig of beer. "That's everything we have on this one."<p>

"Great," Mel replied, and began to leaf through the pages.

"Where's Ebony?"

"Making money."

Kyra glanced over at the extensive game of poker going on at the back of the room. "You told her not to drink tonight?"

"Yep, and I warned the bartender."

"Good."

"Hey, babe." a guy in his early thirties tottered past. "Nice t-shirt," he gestured to the slogan written across Kyra's chest.

"Eyes up and away, buddy," she snapped. "Go vomit in an gutter." Slightly startled by this, the man moved on and Kyra turned back to Mel, who didn't even comment. "So, I've checked on all the disappearances, and they all go by the lunar cycles."

"It's a werewolf?"

"No, the disappearances are in the new moon, near the spring equinox, every seven years. This bastard doesn't have to feed too often, and hibernates the rest of the time."

Mel took a drink of water and pushed her light brown hair over her shoulder. "But it always goes after groups, so does it store them or something, like a wendigo?"

"Pretty much. Now, I also checked the lunar cycles, and tonight's a new moon."

"And the spring equinox?"

"March 20th."

"Ten days time. So it hunts tonight?"

"Yep. Thanks to the reports," Kyra grabbed the book and flipped to a map of the nearby forest, "I've worked out that its lair is most likely in this area." She tapped the red circle which had a series of 'x's with arrows drawn through surrounding it. "There were tracks found headed in that direction, which went cold, so the authorities gave up. But I took note of the directions from the reports, and thank God that they were thorough in their investigation because I just realised something. Check this out." Grabbing a nearby menu, she lined up the edge with an arrow, and, fishing a pencil out of her jacket, drew a long line. She then repeated it with all the others, and it occurred to Mel what her friend was doing.

"They all cross here," she said, putting a finger on the spot where the lines met.

"Thereabouts."

"We need a plan." Mel turned in her seat and yelled across the bar, "hey, Ebby, get your arse over here!"

Ebony looked up from her cards to see her two best friends motioning her frantically. "Sorry boys, looks like I'm needed."

"Oh, but we haven't laid out the cards, sweetheart; you really that eager to get away before you lose?" the guy next to her teased lightheartedly, flashing a dazzling smile.

Ebony thought about it for a moment, then chucked her cards down to reveal a royal flush. "Okay, can I have my money now?"

All jaws unhinged as the other men laid out their cards. The guy next to her had a full house, and some of his bravado had left him, but he still had a grin on his face as Ebony reached out to grab her winnings.

"Sweetheart, careful there," he smirked as she leant over him to take the money from the man next to him. She was so close he could see the electric blue streaks in her choppy black hair. "I've only recently recovered from heart trouble, and you're not doing me any favours."

Ebony turned slightly so she was inches from his face, her green eyes looking into his own. "Really? I'd say you're a little young for heart trouble, but I'd be lying a tad."

Everyone at the table laughed at the burn, and laughed harder as Ebony snaked her hand inside his jacket, brushing her fingers along his chest slightly, and plucked a fifty dollar bill out of his inside pocket.

"Thanks sweetheart," she quipped, and walked off to the sound of cheering.

Dean looked after the girl, still with a smile on his face, and after excusing himself from the game, went to a corner booth where his brother sat reading their dad's journal.

"What a woman!" he exclaimed to no one in general. "And British too!"

Sam's only reply was "I don't want to know."

"C'mon Sammy, loosen up a little bit."

"Dean, focus. We have a job to do."

Across the bar, Ebony waved the bag of money with a smile on her face. "I think we're good for a while, girls. And the bartender kept coming over with rounds, but wouldn't give me any." She wagged a playful finger at her friends. "Did you say something to him?"

"It's going to hunt tonight," Mel said.

Immediately, Ebony's expression sobered. "How do you know?"

"Kyra cross-referenced and it hunts on the new moon before the equinox."  
>"And that's tonight?"<p>

"Yes, but I think it won't hunt for another few days; the rangers have banned anyone from going out there due to the storm and the flooding."

"So while it runs about trying to find people, we go into the lair, stake out, booby trap, come back the next day and check if it worked," Kyra finished.

"How do you know it won't go somewhere else for food?" Ebony asked.

"In all of the cases, the campers targeted have never been close to the edge of the forest. Whatever this guy is, he hates civilisation."

"Oh, so like you then?"

Kyra punched Ebony on the arm. "Shut up. There have been other times when for one reason or another, there were no campers on the new moon, but the disappearance happens a few days later."

"So, when do we leave?"

"Now," Mel replied, picking up the file and tucking it into her bag; Ebony grabbed her jacket while Kyra expertly twisted her brunette-copper hair into a high ponytail and left a tip on the table. The three girls walked out the door, Ebony turning just in time to see Dean looking over from where he sat opposite someone- she couldn't see who. He winked at her and she blew him a kiss, which he caught and put in his inside pocket, mouthing the words "fair trade".

She chuckled and walked out the door, which turned to jogging as she realised she was a bit behind her friends.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**This story actually originated from a friend's dream after another friend and I got her hooked on Supernatural. We've all contributed to this story, and we're fairly proud of it. So, like and follow!**

**Peace,**

**Ciara Wynne**


	2. Chapter 2

"Knives?" Mel asked as the girls marched through the trees.

"Three on my belt, one on my upper arm, dagger in my boot," Kyra replied, shoving a branch out of the way.

"Gun?"

"Next to my knives, bullets as well, rock salt, silver, normal, copper. Sword?"

"Got it," Ebony piped up.

"Smaller knives?"

"Thigh strap, boot, belt."

"Bullets?"

"All there." She patted the studs on her belt. "Guns?"

"Pistol in holster, got this bad boy," Mel held up her larger gun which hung round her neck on a strap.

"Grenades?"

"Made a dozen."

"Do you have an idea of where this lair would be then, Kyra? Other than 'where the lines meet'," Ebony asked, turning in a circle as she walked, completing her three sixty to almost walk into Mel.

"That looks like a pretty good guess." Kyra gestured to the cave in the hill, looking ominous and sinister in the dark. The girls inched to the entrance, and Ebony felt something break under her foot with a very audible crack.

She looked to the heavens. "I just stepped on a human bone, didn't I?"

"Yep," Mel replied, hitching her gun up. "Let's go in."

Ebony went first, followed by Kyra, then Mel.

"Torches." All three of them took out said object and turned them on, giving some light to the gloom surrounding them.

"This guy's place needs serious redecorating," Ebony muttered, looking at the human remains lining the walls. "This isn't the caveman era. Why can't monsters-" She cut off as she stumbled over a ribcage, knocking into the wall.

"Ebony!"

The dark-haired girl felt herself get shoved and she pitched forward, at the same time aware of the sound of falling rocks and a yell of pain. She quickly turned around in time to see Kyra lean against the wall, clutching her left shoulder and breathing heavily.

"Kyra," Mel said firmly. "Kyra, calm down right now."

"The walls," she groaned, her eyes screwed shut. "I could ignore them until now, but I can't, I can't."

"Force it back," Mel simply said, looking up at the tallest of the three. "Come on, force it back."

Kyra breathed deeply, slowly, until it was level again. Then, she slowly opened her eyes. "Okay." She wouldn't make eye contact with either of them, like she always did after an attack. "Okay. Sorry. Let's go." She made to stand up properly, but Mel grabbed her right arm.

"Kyra, I know that was your bad shoulder. Don't make it worse."

"I'm fine-"

"The monster's out hunting, it's not that dangerous." When Kyra hesitated, she added, "be lookout?" And gave her the biggest puppy eyes imaginable.

Kyra let out a shaky breath. "Fine. I'll go be lookout. But be careful."

Both girls nodded, and Mel quickly passed Kyra, joining Ebony; after looking back at the eldest of their trio, the two ventured into the gloom, and Kyra headed back to the entrance. Taking deep, relieved breaths of the night air, she pulled out her gun, and with some difficulty, cocked it.

* * *

><p>"Why are teenagers so stupid?" Dean muttered.<p>

"They don't know what's out there, that's why," Sam replied. "Watch out for that branch."

Dean didn't register what his brother said until after he fell over. "That's a frickin' _tree trunk,_ Sasquatch."

"Shh!" Sam pulled him behind a tree as a girl tagging at the back of the group turned around. After waiting twenty seconds, Sam glanced round the tree to check that she'd carried on, and the boys continued their mission. Eventually the teenagers came to a clearing and set down their tents.

"Why don't we just pull out the ranger badges and send 'em back?" Sam asked as they crouched in the greenery.

"Because the new moon's tonight, and the bastard will be out hunting," Dean said. "And when it comes, we shoot the damn thing and the kids go running."

"Yeah, but what if-" Sam broke off. "Do you hear that?"

Footsteps. Thundering footsteps, rustling leaves, breaking branches.

"It's here." Dean got up and burst into the clearing with Sam behind, causing most of the kids to jump, and one girl to scream. "Get out of here, now."

"Who the hell are you?" one boy asked heatedly.

"The guys about to save your-" There was a roar, and the teenagers backed up, yelling and screaming. Then a dark, thing covered in matted fur jumped out of the undergrowth, snarling and spitting, only to have both Sam and Dean shoot it in the face. It howled and turned, bounding off into the forest.

"Dude, what the hell?!" someone shouted.

"Go home!" Sam yelled in reply as the two Winchesters ran off in pursuit.  
>Dean lost track of time as he and his brother raced through the woods, ducking under branches and jumping over logs. Risking a quick glance at Sam, he realised once again how much he'd missed all 6"4 of college boy; going on jobs, arguing like brothers, being reprimanded on checking out some girl behind the counter.<p>

Dean mentally shook himself. No time for chick flick moments- mind on the job.

* * *

><p>"She hid it again," Ebony said as she and Mel crept along the passageway.<p>

"You know that's how she copes," Mel replied.

"Crappy way of coping; she was barely holding it together, and that was after you told her to get a grip."

"There's only so much I can do; hopefully she'll open up more, see that it's okay to be emotional."

"We've known her for years, and she's as open and emotional as a brick."  
>Mel blew away a strand of hair that had escaped her messy bun. "Time heals all things, and when she's ready, she'll talk."<p>

"How are you the youngest?"

The two walked for a minute or so in silence, until they came to a split.

"Hmm... Coin toss?"

"Heads I get right, tails you get right," Ebony suggested.

"Fair enough." Mel pulled a quarter from her pocket and flicked it into the air, caught it, and slapped it into her other palm. "Tails."

"Ugh."

"What is it with you and the left?"

"No idea, I'm right-handed? Not holding anything against the left, but that passage doesn't feel too good."

"You've faced worse than the left passage, Ebby, now go."

With a mock salute, Ebony walked off, and Mel, hitching up her gun, went the other way.

Ebony grimaced at the sound of bones crunching underfoot. "Bloke could at least clean up after himself," she muttered aloud. "Disgusting."

After a while the passageway opened up, and looking round, Ebony figured that she had reached the centre of the lair. Bones, corpses, rotting flesh, bones, maggots, more bones. Eugh.

Quickly scanning the place with her flashlight, she determined that no, the monster wasn't in here, therefore not putting her in immediate danger. Glancing around, she tried to determine which traps would work best and easily concealed where, and was about to fish out some trip wire when she heard a crash that sounded like a pile of bones being scattered all around, and she could hear growling and crap.

It was early.

* * *

><p>"Dude could do a spring clean," Dean commented quietly as the two boys snuck down the stone passage.<p>

"Might be more welcoming to his victims," Sam deadpanned, causing Dean to smirk; said smirk immediately slipped as they heard movement, footsteps so quiet they were almost soundless. And then, those footsteps stilled. Looking back at his brother, Dean held up three fingers, and counted down. Then, they turned the corner and Deans swinging fist was blocked by an slim arm, and something jabbed him in the gut. Sam lunged forward and caught the figure's arm, turned on his flashlight, and-

"Stop that, your blinding me!" The arm twisted out of his grip, which didn't matter as Sam's hand had gone completely slack. "What are you two doing? Something dangerous is in this forest, you need to go."

"Sweetheart, why do you think we're here?" Dean showed his gun. "And you shouldn't go up against it alone."

"One, I can handle myself just fine." The brunette cocked her large gun to emphasise her point. "Two, there are three of us, and- wait, how did you get in here?"

"We followed it back to the entrance near the large group of boulders after we shot it when it tried to attack a couple of idiot kids," Dean replied.

"Wait, you mean it's-"

"Dean," Sam interrupted, "it's her."

Both of them turned to the taller of the men and said in unison "what?"

"You took the right, didn't you?" he pressed on. "You took the right passage."

"How do you-"

Dean caught on. "Your friend, she's-"

Then a roar and a startled yell drowned out the rest of their words.

* * *

><p>This was ridiculous. Ridiculous and terrifying. And also stupid.<p>

It was supposed to be out hunting. There was supposed to be time to set up the traps. They were supposed to waltz out and come back the next morning to the mutt's bloody remains. But there she was, sword in hand, fighting a monster that was so much frickin' bigger than its paw prints suggested, and holy crap, she needed serious back up.

Ebony ducked and rolled out of the way of a swiping claw, cursing her choice of the tartan mini-skirt tonight. As she rolled, she lashed out with her sword, slicing at the creature's legs. Unfortunately, it barely trimmed the hairs, and as she stood up, regaining her balance, pain exploded in her leg, and her wrist twisted awkwardly as her sword was knocked away. She looked up at the snarling thing before her.

"Crap."

She didn't remember too much. Being pinned down, a vice-like grip, a crushing weight on her leg; it sniffing and slobbering all over her, then more pain. She was vaguely aware of herself saying something, and she really hoped it was something sassy, because she would not go down without at least making a joke about its utterly morbid breath, and she refused to let her eyes close, no matter how swelled one of them was, or how blurry her vision was going-

_Bang._

_Bang. _

_Bang._

Three shots went off and the monster reared back, not fully opening its hand as it let go, and Ebony felt her skin ripping. It didn't hurt, though she could hear something sizzling, and it was probably her flesh.

Then she was aware of someone leaning over her, putting their ear by her mouth. Probably Mel, due to her hair tickling her nose. She wondered briefly where the monster had gone.

"She's breathing!"

Whoa. What had happened to Mel's _voice_?

"We need to get her out of here."

"Our friend Kyra has a hot-wired truck." Oh, there was Mel. "She's out by a different entrance."

"She hot-wired a truck?" Not-Mel asked.

"No time for this, Sammy," another voice interrupted. An incredibly deep and sexy american voice. "Here, I got her."

That was when she felt arms slide under her, and as she was lifted up, she let her eye close- oh wait, it already closed; when did that happen?- and drift off to the rocking rhythm that this person's hurried walk created.


End file.
